Dress For Success

In the era of "all-mighty" women, success "feminine-style" is rarely single-tracked. Colleagues, husband, children, girlfriends we strive to admiration, appreciation and respect among so many people and try to be successful in so many ways, that when it comes to our look, it better be perfect.

My next character Katya is exactly the woman who  is both old enough to know what she wants from life and energetic enough to go after it. She is a successful business woman, a wife and a mother of a beautiful teenage daughter and that is all at the age of .., trust me, quite young for all these life achievements. Obviously, with so many tasks to manage and parts to play you just cannot afford spending one hour tet-a-tet with your closet deciding what to wear in the morning, neither can you let your lame outfit ruin your self-confidence as well as your  spirit for the rest of the day.

Let's get started!

Katya challenged me with pulling together a new wardrobe, where each and every piece has first of all to be comfortable, which is obviously a "must" for a business woman but not always synonymous to beauty and allure. A part from that clothes should be easily dressed up and down depending on the agenda of the day and,bien sur, be flattery, elegant and appropriate for business environment without compromising femininity and style.

Et voila

When I first met Katya she was wearing the timeless classics - a little black dress. And, yes, it might be the safest way to go, no matter where you are going, but if you never take a risk to challenge your look, how do you know that that was your best one? So this is our alternative to the LBD - LPD - a little pastel dress. Why not if you have gorgeous pale complexion and slim shape?! And, to add some character to the pastels, you can always couple it with some bold vivid color - like this emerald green coat. This look is perfect for the evening, as well as it might be appropriate for the day, and mostly important it is wearable.

Katya is wearing Cos crepe dress, Cos wool coat, Cos necklace and Pumps.

There are different definitions of office elegance, and this is one of them. You can look feminine, sexy but still smart and appropriate if you pull it together the right way. You can't change the business dress code, you cannot break the rules by showing up in some chunky sweater and a pair of jeans to the office, but you still can work your own way out of it. The pencil skirt does not always have to be in black wool and the the shirt might come not only in white cotton.

Cos crepe blouse, H&M necklace, H&M leather skirt (my favourite)

I have a confession to make - I am absolutely jealous about this blazer/tuxedo. This style has been interpreted a lot recently - a black tux as a response to cocktail dress, dressed up and down with a pair of classic black trouser or worn-out denim. And I was looking for an ideal tuxedo for Katya, and could not even expect I will find something like that. 

On Katya: Cos crepe blazer, Anne Fontaine white shirt, 7 For All Man Kind jeans and Paul Green suede booties

I call this look - a Sunday look. How do you like to dress on Sunday? Easy, cosy, comfortable but still with a slightest hint on chic and elegance - a-la parisiene. Parisians are just born with this talent to look effortlessly chic, whereas we, non-Parisians, are allowed to master it on Sundays. A pair of black skinnies, classic striped blazer (which looks absolutely classic and smart on any other day of the week) and of course your favourite knitted scarf or better woven one, or both of them worn together. And straight to Le Pain Quotidien to start your beautiful Sunday morning! 

Katya is wearing Massimo Dutti NYI blazer and wool scarf, Cos blouse, skinny jeans and Orb pendant necklace, Eric Bompard cashmere gloves and Clarks suede boots.

This look is very bold and charismatic. I would recommend to dress this way if you definitely want to set the leadership roles in your environment. It is first of all black and white contrast, which leave no room for compromise and communicates explicitly that you know exactly which way to go. Besides, the combination of fabrics is also very daring and extravagant in a way: chiffon mixed with leather and wool. So if you have a strong message, you better start communicating it through your style.

On Katya: Cos Leather skirt and wool coat, Anne Fontaine shirt, Leather Boots

A Flemish Girl

Living in Antwerp I could not help but wonder who these Flemish women are. What do they look like, what do they like, what are they like?! There is a certain cliche about American girls, les femmes francaises, Swedish, Russians and Germans, but what about Belgian women, have you ever heard anything about them?

My next character  - Katrien is the most traditional but at the same time most special Flemish girl I have ever met. She is a "girl next door" - adored by everyone and always there for everyone, with a healthy dose of Flemish tact and courtesy but without being distant or snobbish. And the best thing about her is that she may be your still harbour when needed, but when it is time to have fun, she is just a firework. This is quite typical of Flemish women, in my opinion, they are moderate in everything: clothes, words, behaviours, emotions they let outside, but  when you got to know them better - it is a box with surprises .

The idea of the photoshoot was to show three completely different looks from very feminine and princess like to masculine sophisticated and rock chic, so that these looks will broaden the idea of typical Flemish style: moderate, modest and monochromatic. Hope you will enjoy it!

Katrien is wearing Ralph Lauren men's wool sweater, Zara skirt, Mango clutch, 123 heeled sandals.

In a men's world

Though Katrien was afraid to look too military and masculine in this outfit I think this look turned out to be most feminine and elegant. It is the contrast between masculine clothes and absolutely diva like make-up and hair. Playing with opposites is what makes your style nowdays, because in the end fashion is all about contrasts.

Katrien is wearing 1,2,3 suite, Zara Shoes and belt, Mango clutch and Accessorize necklace.

TRUE BLUE

Katrien is wearing: Cos striped sweater, Uterque skirt, 123 sandals, Twice As Nice necklace and Topshop belt.

From Russia with Style

This style makeover is very special. First of all, because it is inspired by the fashion heritage of my beautiful country - Russia, which to my biggest pride is becoming more and more influential in fashion world thanks to the pioneers of new Russian style-it girls such as Miroslava Duma, Ulyana Sergeenko and Vika Gazinskaya. Second of all, it is a wonderful collaboration with a talented girl Julia, who has got all the courage, creativity and passion to turn the oldest Russian accessory into a real fashion statement.

Russian shawls are genuine piece of art - they are hand-painted by Russian artists so you can be sure of not seeing the same pattern twice. They are extremely warm, since it is pure wool and versatile: they can be used as a scirt, dress, scarf, or a turban. Just use your fantasy and don't be afraid to experiment as we did together with Julia during this photo shoot and we did have fun!

This look is all about Julia and who she is: Russian temper adjusted by European education, healthy sex appeal without vulgarity, can be tough and very sensitive at the same time. And you may think it just does not match at first sight, but when you pull it together it looks quite harmonious and whole, at least to me.

This look shows how easy you can combine the typical oriental pattern of the shawl wrapped as a skirt with easy-going striped sweater. The stripes take the extravagance down and you can easily wear it in the day as well as dress it up for the evening by wearing a pair of sexy pumps coupled with a simple clutch.

Julia is wearing striped cotton sweater coming from some local market in Province, 

shawl Vera by T&K boutique, Cos leather necklace, pumps, clutch and belt.

Sometimes there are occasions in girl's life when you just need to give yourself to draw this extra edge and emphasize your authority no matter your age, sex or a cup size. Marlene Dietrich's style has already become classics but you cannot really call it masculine, because wearing masculine pieces and styling them the right way you only emphasize your femininity and girl's power and this is what this look is about. Don't be afraid to be bold!

The brooch and a tie make this look quite toreodorlike, but it is easily fixed by taking the accessories down.

Julia is wearing Diane Von Furstenberg leather jacket, Massimo Dutti pants, Zara shirt, 

shawl Vera by T&K boutique, black shoes and glasses.

This look is very Russian and very feminine as most Russian women. Take your shawl to the next level and wear it as cocktail dress with some light-weight blazer. Your customized dress is fixed with a pair of pins and a belt and you will never find anyone to wear the same.

Julia is wearing shawl Vera by T&K boutique, blazer, belt and pumps.

La vintage

Why is vintage so fashionable these days? I would say it is the easiest way to be unique: buying vintage you don't risk to see the outfit you're wearing on a stranger, and which is even worse at the same party. Thank's God I didn't buy the yellow mini dress from Karen Millen for a vintage 60-s party, because I have seen at least two of them passing by that evening. Being dressed the same in this case is even worse than being dressed tasteless, because "tasteless" might be quite subjective, whereas "the same" is a matter of fact.

Anyways, my next story is about vintage inspired look, and to be more precise about a very inspiring young lady who has a rare combination of femininity and emancipation at the same time. Her name is Melissa, she lives in the heart of Antwerp. I was so inspired by visiting her apartment which just breathes art-deco, jazz and the romance of that time, that I could not stand the temptation to style Melissa a la vintage. 

Melissa in her retro-chic apartment before

Melissa after re-styling.....

They say "Diamonds are a girl's best friend", I would say in our time "Accessories are a girl's best friends", because they are a way more easy-going: affordable, appropriate in a day and a night light and mostly important accessories are able to turn even the most boring outfit in the most stylish one. You want to know how to layer your jewellery, check out this video:

How to layer jewellery?

As much as tiresome and frustrating it can be to pick out the outfit, the hairstyle is still the worst. And I have never ever met a girl who is happy with her hair: curly ones want to have straight hair and vice versa, long hair are got cut, and then let grow again, blond wanna be brunette, but then realize they will always be blond in their heart and all these medieval tortures we do to our hair can easily be the reason to make them grey eventually, can't it be? A perfect solution for "the hair problem" is a turban. This head accessory is not only traditionally functional, but can also save you some hours of work with your hair and create some oriental mystery around your look. Be careful with it, you do need to have some extravaganza sparkle inside you, otherwise you risk to be not convincing in it. Here is a great video how to tie a turban:

How to tie a turban?

Melissa is wearing Malene Birger blazer, Cos overall, H&M bag and Monar pumps, Mango bracelets, vintage scarf wrapped in a turban

This look is a compromise between modern minimalistic and retro-romantic: modern outfit and retro inspired hair and make-up.

Melissa is wearing Malene Birger blazer, Cos striped sweater, Mango bracelets, Cos necklace, 

Dr Adams pumps and vintage clutch.

And the last but not the least............

 As I already mentioned Melissa is a very rare combination of a woman whose femininity does not contradict with her emancipation, and this is actually what a pin-up style stands for. To show women's femininity as a weapon and strength not fragility in the eyes of men. And even pin-up girls are past in the history, the style comes back over and over again, which let us doubt if it is that old-fashioned?

The hair and the make-up is the key in the pin-up look, it is far from being casual and extremely time-consuming however if you are still curious to try it on, check out this video, I used it for Melissa's make-up:

Pin-up-look

Melissa is wearing a Levi's vintage shirt, Top Shop belt, Essentiel skirt, vintage clutch&bangles and Sam Edelman pumps.